WAVERLY - Denny Krueger has been selling GMC trucks in Waverly for 26 years.

But he may not be for much longer.

Krueger, owner of Krueger Auto & Truck Villa, said he received one of 1,100 letters General Motors sent to U.S. dealers informing them they could be dropped from the automaker's network when their contracts expire in October 2010.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, Krueger said Monday.

"It depends a lot if GM files bankruptcy also and what the bankruptcy judge says on a lot of this. But I know they are doing some more cutting," he said.

Last week could have been worse for Krueger, who has owned his dealership since 1983. Chrysler informed him Thursday his business would continue to be a part of its retail network after it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Among other GM dealers in the Cedar Valley that responded to Courier inquiries, spokesmen at Rydell Chevrolet/Mitsubishi in Waterloo, GMC dealer John Deery Motors Inc. in Cedar Falls and Chevrolet store Jerry Roling Motors in Waverly, said Saturday GM had informed them via telephone their status was secure.

The letters from GM arrived the day after Chrysler had announced plans to eliminate 789 of its new-car dealerships, including 22 in Iowa June 9.

Nothing is clear at this point, Krueger said, but he added that it seems Chrysler is the future for his dealership.

"Chances are that we will be the full line of Chrysler, and I'm guessing we will inherit Fiat (if, as speculated, the Italian automaker merges with Chrysler)."

On Friday, media reports estimated the number of letters sent to GM dealers in Iowa at 10.

The most current estimate is 12-13, said Gary Thomas, president of the West Des Moines-based Iowa Automobile Dealers Association.

But, there could be many more, he said.

"GM has announced 42 percent of their dealer (network) will ultimately get the letter; there could be as many as 40-50 letters in Iowa."

But, Thomas emphasized, the letters weren't letters of termination.

"They're letters of expectation," he said. "GM has set out the criteria they'd expect their dealers to meet."

Mostly, those criteria pertain to sales, but there are others that Thomas said would be "unrealistic" for many dealers to meet.

"They're expecting dealers to redo their facilities or build a new facility; some of this stuff is pretty unrealistic," Thomas said.

Iowa franchise laws protect dealers in the state from such expectations, Thomas said.

But, if GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as many analysts anticipate, federal bankruptcy laws would overtake state statutes.

"If GM takes bankruptcy, the manufacturer can arbitrarily cut dealers," Thomas said.

Courier staff writer Jens Manuel Krogstad contributed to this story